CM Travels

 15/04/2025 - 22/04/2025 I awoke, head pounding, throat dry, body aching, fully clothed (fortunately no shoes) with no duvet or sheets on me. The memory of me climbing into my hostel bed like this doesn't appear to be in my head. I remember guzzling a glass of water and excusing myself from the hostel group in the kitchen downstairs. Beyond that, blank. Fortunately I soon found Fintan in the bunk bed below me in a similar state. Casting my mind back to the previous evening, I thought "We mustn't haven't been that drunk, surely?" As the memories flooded back, the answer was yes, yes we were.  In the days preceding this, I was in a much more put together state in the Bavarian capital, Munich. Audrie greeted me at the platform of the city's main train station, with a big hug. A wave of positivity washed over me as it felt like a little piece of home was with me all the way on the other side of the globe. For those that don't know, ever since we were five, (Au...

10/04/2025 - 15/04/2025 A church on a hill, an art gallery with Monet and Rodin, beautiful bridges over a river, cafes, restaurants, bakeries serving delicious pastries, vibrant, youthful energy filling the streets and great public transport - no it's not Paris, it's Lyon. Quite possibly my favourite city I have visited thus far. Beautiful architecture, a great geographical place for a city bordered by two rivers creating a Manhattan-like centre (much smaller however) and Roman ruins fascinated me, ticking a lot of boxes for what makes a city "cool" to me. My time in Lyon will also always be special to me given the amazing time I had with Pierre and Myriam, some new friends I made, thanks to family-friends back in NZ, Marty and Antoinette.  I arrived in Lyon from Nîmes and found my way to another shitty French hostel. Now my gripe with French hostels is not because they're dirty, uncomfortable or unsafe - thankfully. All of them I have stayed in need to pick a lan...

6/04/2025 - 9/04/2025 My skin prickled and the hairs on my arms bolted upright as 60,000 French voices chanted deafeningly "Allez L'OM, Allez L'OM, Allez L'OM" - "Come on, Marseille". Under the impression that nothing could beat the atmosphere of the Atletico Madrid home stadium a few weeks ago, I was glad to be proven wrong this Sunday night in the ancient city on the southern coast of France. The passion, noise and sheer enthusiasm of the Marseille fans was unrivalled to anything I have experienced up to this point in my life. As I drunk in the electric atmosphere pulsating through the Stade Velodrome, I felt I understood for a moment the devotion, the obsession that these people have for their team. When life is hard, and believe me, it seems difficult in parts of Marseille, you need an outlet, you need a mechanism to put aside the grind and struggle of daily life and unite with others for something bigger than yourself. Something more, something bett...

  4/04/2025 - 5/04/2025 Observing the intricacies of French neo-classical painting in Le M usée  Fabre, I sat alone on the black leather bench, pondering the direction of not only the rest of my day, but as I often do, the direction of my life in general. The past month I have spent more time by myself than any month in my life. I am used to being alone. Contemplating, reflecting, fantasising, dreaming of the future; key parts of my daily life now. While the things I glean from these long periods of time alone are incredibly powerful and significant, I cannot truly say that solitude is my preferred state of being. As much as I enjoy the time alone and often yearn for it, interactions with other humans are what gives me energy in my life. Classic extrovert behaviour it seems.  I arrived in Montpellier, my first destination in France, ready for a little alone time following a social few days in Barcelona. Wandering the wiggly, winding streets of the beautiful city in the So...

29/03/2025 - 3/04/2025 I'll admit I have cried twice on two separate train journeys this trip. This second time was again, music induced. "Sitting on this rock, spinning round this burning ball, worthless with no purpose but somehow worth it all" Tom Scott rapped through my headphones, as the tears rolled down my face. There is nothing quite like Tom's lyrics to remind me of home and hit me right to my core. I often find it hard to overcome the feeling that we are, as Tom says, just sitting on this rock, spinning around a burning ball of gas. I'm trying my best to find the purpose and meaning in my life with this adventure of mine. As I continued to the think about my home, my friends, my family, my whole life I've left behind, tears continued to well in my eyes as Barcelona beckoned.  Following my stint in Sevilla, I arrived in Cordoba following a night in the seaside town of Cadiz. Admiring the Mosque-Cathedral of the former capital of the Umayyad Caliphat...